What financial mistakes should I avoid in my twenties?

The mistakes that cost the most aren't dramatic — they're small defaults left unexamined for a decade. In rough order of long-term cost: **1. Not starting to invest early.** The single largest regret, because the money you invest in your twenties has the most time to compound and can never be replaced by investing more later. Even small automatic amounts matter enormously. 'I'll start when I earn more' is the most expensive sentence in personal finance. **2. Lifestyle inflation absorbing every raise.** Income rises, spending rises to match, savings rate stays at zero. Ten years later, a much higher salary and the same net worth. The fix is mechanical: direct at least half of every raise to savings before adjusting anything else. **3. Carrying credit card balances.** Interest in the 30-40% range compounds against you faster than any investment compounds for you. Treat a revolving balance as a financial emergency. **4. No emergency fund**, so every unexpected cost becomes debt. This is the mechanism by which people stay stuck despite a decent income. **5. Buying depreciating things on credit.** Cars, gadgets, furniture on EMI. You pay interest for an asset losing value, and you commit future income to past decisions. **6. Not negotiating your first salary.** Every subsequent raise is calculated from it, and the compounding effect over a career is measured in lakhs or tens of thousands. A ten-minute conversation, once. **7. Buying insurance-investment hybrid products.** Sold aggressively, poor at both functions. Term insurance plus separate investing is almost always better. **8. Not taking the employer retirement match.** Declining free money. **9. Investing in things you don't understand** because someone confident recommended them — a stock tip, a token, a scheme with guaranteed returns. **10. Ignoring career capital.** Underrated as a financial decision: your earning power is your largest asset in your twenties, and investing in skills, moving for a better role, or leaving a dead-end job usually beats any optimisation of a small portfolio. **The one anti-mistake**: don't over-optimise. Extreme frugality that makes your twenties miserable is also a regret people report. The goal is a high savings rate you can sustain alongside a life you enjoy — the two are compatible, and the balance matters more than the maximum.